Sorry Swift Loris, didn't see it.

When I read it, that jumped out at me immediately. That's huge if it's true.

to verify that the suspected ingestion agents actually are responsible for the symptoms (and see what else was ingested) and to try to plot the time course by doing serial testing to see if the blood level has peaked ...

Since Ivins behavior was so off-the-wall and his life apparently in chaos, I won't speculate about when his ingestion occurred or -- again it should be mentioned -- whatever else he had on board. He was found by a family member, unarousable, and they called EMS. He lived 2-3 more days. It seems quite possible to me that his ingestion was innocently ignored by family members who were just happy he was "getting some rest" and they were getting some peace as well.

I do medical transcription and although the classic movie drug overdose suicide picture is either a "now I lay me down to sleep" bedtime scenario versus a wee-hours desperate act, people actually impulsively take a bunch of pills at all hours and often call EMS themselves BEFORE the pill effects have kicked in.

My guess, therefore, is that Ivins took the pills sufficient hours prior to being discovered and that there was serious toxicity before he arrived at the hospital ... in which case, short of a liver transplant, etc., it's curtains.

According to the news tonight, Ivin's wrote letters to the government. This was one of the items in their circumstantial case against him. They didn't specify who he wrote to.

If writing to your congressman is viewed as suspicious behavior by the FBI, then I must be guilty of something.

Thanks Cargo.

At Least the government progressed from a suspect, Hatfill, who had no access to anthrax and no ability to weaponize it to a suspect, Ivins who had no ability to weaponize it, but did really have access to anthrax.

The epidemiology of the 2001 letter routings suggests to some two strains of anthrax. (See flow chart link my sig.)

Earlier (news corporations batch mailing) – (5) letters resulted in: 2 inhalation cases (1 death) from a single letter, and 9 skin contacts (cutaneous survivors)

Later (Senate batch mailing) – (2) letters resulted in: 9 inhalation cases (4 deaths/ 5 sickened), and 2 cutaneous survivors

Apparent anomalies:

First reported (Florida case) resulted in two inhalation cases.

- Was this batch of letters loaded with refined anthrax and if so why so many cutaneous cases?

The second Senate attack batch seemed scewed to a more refined spore and air delivery method - relative to the first batch.

- Was the second batch more refined?

- and why are 1 cutaneous survivor and 2 inhaled DEATHS from this group still unresolved as to evidentiary linkage of spore delivery. The victims did not receive death letters nor work at mail centers or government offices. Anonymous folks cross contaminated.

Does any of this jibe with the allowable MO now outlined for the lone killer?

"...[Ivins] was angry towards those who embraced the ACLU position that civil liberties must be safeguarded..."

If this is true he has no valid complaint about how he was treated by the FBI, regardless of whether he was guilty of the anthrax attack or not. He should have been glad he was not immediately sent to Gitmo as soon as he came under suspicion - or maybe waterboarded. He actually seems to have received especially kind treatment among those suspected of terrorism.

You'd think the gubmit would want to be sure on a cause of death for their man, wouldn't you? I mean I understand that blood tests can be quite conclusive and the time he spent in the hospital might have provided sufficient observation time for them to make a reasonable determination or guess...*aaaaand* that the family may not have wanted one (we've no idea on that right now) -

But yeah wouldn't the geniuses at the FBI want to know for certain that *another* government didn't kill him or that it was indeed an intended suicide?

I'm not a doctor, nor do I have the time to play one on the Internets, but come on...

I just caught the tail end of today's anthrax press conference on cspan. Jeffrey Taylor, U.S. Atty for the District of Columbia is sweating profusely in the press conference, as is Alexander Lazaroff, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Chief Inspector. No one that I saw in the audience was sweating so evidently it probably wasn't the room temperature.

Kleig lights, my friend.

Kleig lights.

Seems as though our media watchdogs have got some serious competion across the water:

"Occasionally I get this tingling that goes down both arms," Ivins wrote to a friend. "At the same time I get a bit dizzy and get this unidentifiable 'metallic' taste in my mouth. (I'm not trying to be funny - It actually scares me a bit.) Other times it's like I'm not only sitting at my desk doing work, I'm also a few feet away watching me do it. There's nothing like living in both the first person singular AND the third person singular!"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/06/anthrax.usa

Seriously: greatly appreciate all of the due diligence done, Glenn, as well as that shown in the informed comments

Does anyone have any information or links to any reports about exactly what he overdosed on? I can't find much except a description of "a massive dose of tylenol with some codeine."

No one with any background in biology or medicine would overdose on tylenol, it is a horribly long and painful way to die. I am betting he took too much Tylenol 3, and it isn't being reported in a rigorous fashion. Does anyone know?

overwhelmingly they had no unexpected findings ... occasionally a previously undiagnosed malignancy was uncovered in a sudden death.

A relative's autopsy revealed that her impossibly childish behavior was not ENTIRELY psychiatric or alcohol induced, but, in fact, she had organic brain syndrome (vascular sclerosis) and that her oral cancer had NOT metastasized as was suspected/feared) and that she had a previously unknown walnut-sized lung cancer. These were big time surprises, but noneurologic a smoking gun wrt to her "cause of death" which was simple aspiration (she choked on her own spit) due to debility.

In the case of Mr. Ivins, he was under current medical care and had in fact been in the hospital (probably with a documented physical examination and lab work, etc. on file).

I have no idea who would want an autopsy or why. If his family had wanted one, it would have been done. Even if he had no recent medical care, with the cause of death so apparent (and demonstrated by blood levels and declining hepatic function).

WTF does anyone think an autopsy would have shown?

I read somewhere that Ivins thought he had aplastic anemia which was a "new one" to me .... anyone have any further info?

Again, if this were suspected, it would show on simple blood tests and a bone marrow biopsy ... no autopsy needed.